Budget Amendment ID: FY2025-S4-99

GOV 99

Voting Cost Certifications

Messrs. Moore, Tarr and O'Connor moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting after section __ the following section:-

“SECTION __. Chapter 54 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 25C the following section:-

Section 25D. Calculation of Reimbursements for Municipal Early Voting and Vote by Mail Costs.

No later than September 15 of each year, the division of local mandates, in consultation with the secretary of the Commonwealth, shall develop a reimbursement formula to be used for the following election cycles. This formula will be provided to the house and senate committees with appropriate jurisdiction and the secretary of administration and finance not later than September 15 for their review.

Said formula shall be based on a survey of municipalities conducted by the division of local mandates regarding the costs of the most recent previous state primary and general elections and will include cost factors for in-person early voting and vote-by-mail. This formula will be used to estimate costs for early voting and vote-by-mail reimbursements each city and town for the following 12 months.

For a specific election, a city or town may petition the state auditor to calculate its reimbursement without using the formula which, once certified by the division of local mandates, shall become the approved reimbursement for that election for that city or town. The reimbursement calculated by the reimbursement formula shall remain in effect for future elections, subject to future petitions to calculate non-formula reimbursements.

The secretary of the Commonwealth will provide the division of local mandates the actual number of ballots cast through in-person early voting and vote-by-mail, by municipality, upon request by the division of local mandates. Reimbursements shall be paid to municipalities by the secretary of the Commonwealth upon certification by the state auditor, subject to appropriation.”